I’m goin’ where the water tastes like wine; well maybe scotch
Without spending nearly enough time in Edinburgh we hopped a train heading north to the much smaller city of Aberdeen. Not just our original cab driver, it seems everyone drives on the wrong side of the road here so my friends wisely persuaded me to take a train. Not nearly as exciting, but everyone arrived safely.
Like our stay in the south, it was seriously raining again. Not to be detoured we walked from the train station to the hotel a few blocks away. Checked into the hotel looking forward to seeing the ocean view from our room. Did I mention it is raining? Oh, a side note the Siberia Vodka Bar seen in the photo below has a wild late-night party scene. The Princess want to go dancing but could not persuade to rest of us.
Just a short walk took me to The Kirk of St Nicholas. A beautiful walled church and cemetery. Having been drawn to old tombstones my whole life I found this churchyard to be fascinating. Most of the legible stones were from the 1800’s with a few quite a bit older. Large mature trees kept the ground in perpetual shade combined with the frequent rains created a perfect micro climate for moss to grow on most every surface. Heavy fog the day I was shooting just added to the mood. Just loved it.
As part of the “Keep Dennis From Driving” campaign we hired a guide for the next day. We used Aberdeen Tours. (bookings@aberdeen-tours.co.uk). Our guide Karl, was on time, knowledgeable and friendly. This company delivered what was advertised. What was nice was that he listened to what we wanted to do and offered suggestions. The first stop was Stonehaven; an ancient town that dates back to before the bronze age as a fishing village. The harbor was picturesque. Also, had a good coffee stop.
Next up was Dunnottar Castle. Famous ruins that are a must stop for us. We learned a little bit about the Jacobite war and the severe cost to the Highlanders. Carl explained that some ruins were impacted by of the tax laws. This castle was a prize of war awarded to a major supporter of the winning side. The new owners did not need a summer home so to speak, so they sold off what they could while still holding onto the land. The roofing material was reclaimed for reuse and there are no taxes on the structure if there is no roof. So, the new owner after the war got a tax break along with the awarded holdings. Karl’s explanation was more coherent but hopefully I got it close in my mental notes.
As timing seemed to work, we stopped at our first distillery before noon. Never too early to taste exceptional scotch. Fettercairn is a smaller distillery with limited distribution, not available in the States. Prices range from $60 for a 12-year-old to $23,000 for a 50-year-old scotch. Tried to get my friends to buy the latter but to no avail. A couple bottles of the 12-year-old Highland Single Malt decided to go home with us.
Our guide then took us to Crathes Castle built by the Burnett family starting in 1553. The Burnett family occupied the castle for 350 years. It is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. (https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/crathes-castle) This is a tower house design meaning the first structure was a tower designed for protection and then additions were added as the family and wealth grew. Several interesting things were mentioned on the tour about the tower defenses. As we enter the tower, I notice the doorway being very low. It was explained that the people of the time were not short but rather the door was designed to force intruders to slow their approach and to bend lower making them easier to repel. Another defense an outsider would not notice was that the 7th stone step of the spiral staircase leading to the upper rooms was a different height designed to trip an attacker, again making it easier for the defender to repel the enemy. The Princess on the other hand was way more interested in the beautiful gardens and lawns surrounding the castle.
We traveled mostly smaller backroads between the main stops of the day. The scenery was beautiful, seeing the farms and small towns added a lot to the tour.
Our small group of four was tired by the time Karl dropped us off at the hotel. Turns out we had enough time before a late dinner to sample one of the bottles of Fettercairn. Next stop Inverness.
Dennis
